The present invention relates to snips and, more particularly, to snips operable by a single hand to switch between a locking position and a release position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,219 discloses multiple purpose compound action snips including a pair of handles mutually connected at a handle pivot and a pair of cutting blades connected to the handles. The blades are respectively attached to distal portions of the handles by two bolts. A latch is mounted to one of the bolts and can be engaged with the other bolt. The snips are in a closed position not allowing pivotal movement of the handles about the handle pivot when the latch engages with the other bolt. On the other hand, the snips are in an open position allowing pivotal movement of the handles about the handle pivot to permit the cutting blades to perform a cutting operation when the latch disengages from the other bolt.
However, a user must hold the handles with one hand and engage the latch with the other bolt with the other hand to switch the snips to the closed position while using the snips. Thus, the snips must be operated with both hands to switch between the open position and the closed position, causing inconvenience to the user.
Thus, a need exists for novel snips to mitigate and/or obviate the above disadvantages.